I’m keeping things nice and simple today, and not just because I am still suffering some ill effects from the weekend. A few nights ago I managed to get three kinds of different tomatoes for a mere 6,000 won. We are right in the midst of tomato season so they are all so cheap and plentiful. I’ve spend my summer practically living on salsa, panzanella, and gazpacho. Other than making some ketchup, I wondered what was left for me to do with the humble tomato. Korea’s rally upped its produce game in recent years and we are now getting a variety of different kinds. I didn’t want to overshadow these beauties by piling in everything and the kitchen sink. They are sweet and tasty all by themselves, so I wanted to get back to basics and eat them just with a few of the my home grown basil leaves from my terrace.

Ingredients

500g of tomatoes

A handful of basil leaves

A glug of olive oil

A small drizzle of balsamic vinegar

A pinch of salt

Directions

1. Chop your tomatoes into different sized pieces. I halved some and quartered or sliced others.

2. Drizzle with the olive oil and balsamic vinegar, then sprinkle with salt. Be sparing with the vinegar as you don’t want to overpower the tomatoes.

3. Tear your basil leaves into pieces and toss with the tomatoes. Then enjoy your delicious fresh simple salad.

With it being Monday and all, I thought I would kick off the week with a nice healthy post, to inspire those who overindulged on the weekend (which of course includes me). Considering the name of my blog it may shock and surprise some of you that I have always been interested in eating healthily, although I haven’t always managed to do it in practice. I love junk food more than life itself sometimes, and you would have to pry the Chicken McNuggets out of my hands before I’d share them with you. However despite the abundance of chicken nuggets in my life, I have always been one to eat all my fruits and vegetables as well.

Since turning 30 and getting engaged I have really started to be more interested in eating healthily. I have been trying to incorporate more healthy foods into my diet and cut out some of the junk  in preparation for my impending wedding, as I want to walk down the aisle rather than waddle! Although it’s not always easy I am trying to eat as well as I possibly can whilst still enjoying the foods I love, as there is no way I’m ever going to give up being a food blogger!  For the past 9 months I have been following a healthy eating ideology of  raw til 4pm , 5 times a week. I drink a green smoothie for breakfast every morning and then eat salad, fruit, and nuts for my lunch and snacks. Then I eat a normal dinner.  I still eat cake, pizza, chips and fried foods but not around the clock, just a couple of times a week rather than every day. It has not always been easy but my body feels great after making these changes.

I have decided to share my progress with you because after 29 years of being overweight, I have finally reached a weight which is deemed “normal”. No longer am I slotted in to the plus size or obese category, although that still feels strange and I think I’ll always consider myself a Fat Girl at heart no matter what size I am. I look and feel so much better now, since changing my diet I have more energy than ever before. Although it’s a bit a cliché I’ve finally found a balance in my eating habits and a program which works for me. I have always found it easy enough to eat healthy during the day, but as soon as night comes around and I start watching TV, I can’t seem to stop stuffing my face. So eating raw and doing exercise in the morning keeps me motivated to make better choices later, and if I want to eat something more calorie laden later, I can knowing I have given my body all its nutrients early on. With amazing breakfasts and lunches like this, it’s really not that hard.

After going it alone for a few months I had some great success, but was starting to get stuck in a bit of a rut when I met Jaime. She told me all about Nutrition Mission and was impressed with what I had achieved and invited me for a free consultation.  The programs that she offers are designed around you and through the use of Personalized Menu Plans and Body Analysis, she helps her clients achieve optimal health to prevent or manage various chronic diseases. You can get as much help as you need, which includes menu planning, personal shopping advice, and pantry reorganizing for those who have no idea where to start.

One of the most popular programs she runs is her one month detox. A plan designed to clean and nourish our bodies with what they are most craving. No one is starving or missing out on meals, just eating clean food that will provide our bodies with what they need. If you are wanting to kick start a cleaner you, then this is a great way to get the support and information that you need. She made excellent suggestions about my current diet and told me where I could improve and how to get more variety into my meals to keep my body making positive changes.

As part of our consultation Jaime made me a delicious and healthy dinner. She introduced me to a new food and super grain millet, which is incredibly prevalent in Korea as well as being cheap. It’s also less controversial than quinoa which is getting a bit of a bad rep ethically these days. Due to its popularity it’s now too expensive for the South Americans, whose diet it’s a staple of, to buy. She formed this super grain into patties and flavoured them with nutritional yeast, which, due to iHerb, I have an abundance of. It’s a vegan miracle food as it gives food a cheesy flavour that it’s hard to find anywhere else. The result was these fab millet patties, which I have already recreated a couple of times. Check out the recipe here!

As a Holistic nutritionist, she will help find out any illnesses or health problems you are having which could easily be related to what food you put in your body. I found out that I eat way to many acidic foods which is causing problems with my teeth and pituitary glands, and through the menu plan that she designed for me I now incorporate more alkaline foods into my diet. At first I was worried that she would tell me off for all the KFC I ate, but rather than concentrating on the negatives she told me what I was doing right and encouraged me to do more of that. She also taught me some great recipes like her strawberry chocolate pies, which are amazingly tasty and full of nutrition. Filled with ingredients that nourish the body, it’s no big deal if you eat the whole thing!

Overall Jaime said that my diet wasn’t too bad,  I should just try and apply the 80/20 rule. None of us are perfect and we should enjoy what we love in moderation which is what I am trying to do now. I still eat a whole pizza sometimes, but I also have lots of days where I eat clean healthy food. This way I can have my cake, and eat healthily too.

To inspire you all and reward you for being such faithful readers, I have decided to post some of my before and after pictures. My weight has always yo-yoed but I think finally I’m on the right track, and with Jaime’s support and encouragement I have the tools to keep maintaining my weight at a healthy level. Below are some pictures of me at 25 and 30. I never thought in all my life I would look this great at 30. After spending my 20’s dieting non stop I had pretty much resigned myself to being overweight forever. So it doesn’t matter how old you are, if I can do it so can you.

If you too want a nudge in the right direction, Nutrition Mission will be hosting a 14-Day Detox Program from September 27th to October 11th. This program will help you get the tools you need to incorporate a gentle, yet effective 14 day gentle cleansing program and detox your body. With the help of Holistic Nutritionist Jamie Melnychuk you can remove what’s holding you back and add everything your body needs for optimal energy, clarity and renewal. If you would like to find out more about Nutrition Mission, check out their website or facebook page.  

After the success of the chickpea fries I thought it was about time that I gave polenta fries a go too. I bought a bag of corn grits on i-herb some time ago and had only used it once. So this seemed like the perfect way to use it. These fries come out delicious and crumbly, like they have been coated in breadcrumbs. They are also a bit sturdier than the chickpea fries. I’m not super keen on the taste of polenta, so i added some Parmesan and herbs to jazz it up a bit. You can also bake or deep fry. I deep fried of course, but mainly because I had the fryer out already, I’d be happy to bake if I didn’t already have the oil out.

Ingredients

1 cup of polenta

4 cups of water (you can use milk instead if you want it a little richer)

salt & pepper

A knob of butter

A knob of parmesan (but be as generous as you like, vegans can use nutritional yeast))

1 teaspoon of mixed herbs

Olive oil

Soybean oil for frying

Directions

1. Put the polenta and water in a saucepan and bring to the boil stirring all the time. As it gets warmer the polenta will thicken. After as few minutes it should start clearing the sides of the saucepan.

2. Add the salt, pepper, olive oil, butter, parmesan, and herbs then cook for a few minutes while stirring to make sure everything has combined then turn off the heat and set aside.

3. Oil a tray with a lip, then pour in the polenta and leave to set for an hour in the fridge. You can even leave it overnight if you want to make these ahead of time.

4. When the polenta block has set, cut it into fry shapes and heat your oil. Cook the fries in small batches. If you do too many at once they will end up clumping together. Cook for a few minutes of each side until they are golden brown. They should be crispy on the outside and soft in the middle. Serve with your favourite dipping sauce. I paired mine with my roasted red pepper hummus.

Since it’s Monday and the sun is shining it only felt right that I should kick off the week with a salad recipe. Eating healthy can be somewhat challenging for most of us when it’s just so easy to go and grab take away food for work lunches and dinners. A trip to the supermarket requires thought and planning, not a lot mind you so don’t let it put you off. Stock up for the week and even make your salads in advance on Sunday or Monday night. As long as they are in airtight containers and you hold off on the dressing they will stay stay fresh.

Being a seasoned salad eater myself, I’m always on the look out to make our salads that little bit nicer and include a few more ingredients we usually don’t eat. When I was first preparing this one in the morning The Fat Boyfriend seemed unsure, but I later received a text message telling me that the salad was amazing. So the pecan and mandarin salad is now a firm favorite. I made this one here with chicken, but I think it would be even better with some halloumi, feta, or goats cheese if you happen to have some. Just be sure to include plenty of pecans, I had forgotten how tasty they are. It’s easy to get a big bag on i-Herb.

Ingredients

1 chicken breast

A handful of mixed lettuce leaves

A handful of spinach

A small wedge of red cabbage

1/2 a cucumber

1 red pepper

1/2 an avocado

2 mandarins

5 strawberries

12 pecans

5 green onions

Directions 

1. If using a raw chicken breast, wrap in foil with a couple of pieces of garlic, and sprinkle on your favorite seasoning and cook in the oven at 200 degrees Celsius for about 30 minutes. Allow to cool then thinly slice.

2.  Wash your lettuce and spinach leaves and leave to dry.

3. Finely slice the red pepper and the red cabbage. Then chop the cucumber and avocado. Slice the strawberries and mandarin and set aside.

4. When all ingredients are prepared toss together and top with finely slices spring onions. Drizzle with the dressing of your choice and rock your salad world!

So you may have noticed I’ve got a bit smoothie crazy lately. Which I have. Because smoothies are delicious and healthy. I have one for breakfast almost every day. The bluenananut smoothie is insanely delicious, which is why I keep it as a bit of a treat, while still having lots of goodness in it too. Blueberries seem to be in season at the moment and I’ve been finding them everywhere. I even got one of the little boxes for a mere 2,000 the other day. The peanut butter I used was the amazing white chocolate kind from i-Herb but use the regular stuff if you have it. Or you could do a scoop of the peanut butter powder instead. I also used some of my Pure coconut water to give it a tropical taste and get some much needed electrolytes.

Ingredients 

2 bananas

a handful of blueberries

1 tablespoon of peanut butter

200mls of coconut water

100mls of milk (optional)

Directions

1. Put all the ingredients into your blender and blend.

2. Pour smoothie over ice and drink!

I whipped up this loaf last week as another dish to take along to The Seoul Vegan Potluck. And when I say I, I mean The Fat Boyfriend. Although I devised the recipe, he just did all the hard labour, just how I like it. We often make bread, but I wanted to change it up a bit. I had some chilies which needed using, as I often do, so figured this would be a great way to use them. Had it not been destined for the Vegan Potluck I probably would have thrown some cheese in too.

Ingredients

250g of whole wheat flour from bob red mill (FFM, i-Herb, Bangsan Bakers Mart)

250g of white bread flour

2 x 8g instant yeast

2 tablespoons of white sugar

2 teaspoons of salt

1 1/2-2 cups of warm water

4 tablespoons of olive oil

5 red chillies

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Roast the chilies in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil for about 20 minutes until browned and softened. Remove the ends and half the seeds. If you like it spicy keep them all in. Blend the chilies and the rest of the oil in your coffee grinder until there are no large lumps.

2. Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Start to add the warm water and mix together. After you have added a third of the water, stir in the chili oil. Continue to add the water bit by bit until a dough has formed. You may find that you do not need all of the water, so stop as soon as you have enough. Once the dough has formed knead for about 8 minutes. Oil your hands if kneading by hand as the dough will begin to get sticky. When the dough has been kneaded, place it in a bowl with a damp towel over it in a warm place. Since it’s still cold I just put it on one of the hot spots on the floor, I find this does the job well. Leave it to rise for one hour. The dough  should have risen nicely.

3. When the dough has doubled in volume, Punch the dough back down and shape into a two long baguette  loaf  shapes and place them on your baking tray. Put your baking tray inside of a plastic bag and leave to rise again for another 30 minutes to an hour.

4. Once they have risen again (just like the South)  pop them in the oven at about 190 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes, turn the tray around halfway through cooking to produce a more even rise. Check your bread is done by tapping it, if it doesn’t give a good knock, put it back in for another 5-10 minutes.

If you like pina coladas, getting caught in the rain. I do indeed. Which is why when I received a box of coconut water from the fab people at Pure, one of my first thoughts was a Pina colada smoothie. I whipped this one up this morning in about 5 minutes and was instantly transported to a desert island delightfulness. Plus I had the pina colada song stuck in my head all day and that always makes me smile. If this is a weekend morning drink then feel free to throw in some rum too.

Ingredients 

330ml of coconut water

2 bananas

2 rings of pineapple

1 tablespoon of chia seeds (i-Herb)

Directions

1. Soak the chia seeds in about 50ml of the coconut water. After about five minutes they should become gel like and a little like frog spawn. But don’t be scared, that’s their magic power. You could also just throw them into the smoothie but it wont be quite as thick.

2. Put the bananas, pineapple, chia seeds and coconut water into the blender and blend. Serve over ice. You should get 2 large smoothies out of this.

Another healthy start to the week with my favourite green smoothie recipe. Don’t be put off by the color or all the vegetables, this smoothie is fresh ,zingy, and delicious. The Fat Boyfriend  was unconvinced at first, assuring me that it was going to taste “gardeny”. But it doesn’t! The vegetables are all mild enough that they blend well with the fruit flavours and now he drinks one almost every day. Feel free to lose one of each of the fruit and vegetables and you can manage without the cilantro if it’s not easy for you to get hold of. But keep the parsley, its amazing for cleaning the blood, along with the spirulina which is an absolute superfood, order it from i-Herb. This is one of the best starts you can have for your day freeing you up to have a few treats later on.

Ingredients

1-2 inch thick slice of pineapple

1 apple

2-3 baby oranges

1 kiwi

1 cucumber

2 sticks of celery

1 green pepper

5 kale leaves (substitute spinach if you don’t have kale)

A small bunch of parsley

A small bunch of cilantro

1 heaped teaspoon of spirulina

1 tablespoon of chia seeds

200ml of orange juice (use apple or coconut water too)

Directions

1. Start by putting the softest ingredients in first cucumber, kiwi, oranges, apple, pineapple, celery and green pepper. Add the orange juice and do the first blend.

2. Once you have a lovely thick smoothie add the kale, parsley, cilantro, spirulina and chia seeds then blend again.

3. If the smoothie is too thick, you can add more juice or ice cubes. Pour it into a take away cup  and get off to work. The perfect drink to perk up your body after a heavy weekend of partying.

Happy new Year everyone! Sorry this is a bit of a late post but jet-lag, work, and an unrelenting toothache have really taken it out of me, and I lost all resolve to blog despite my long absence. So I do apologise if you have been having  been suffering Fatgirl withdrawals, although I have been updating my Facebook page to keep you going.

So on to the first post of 2014. It being January and all I thought I would kick you off with a healthy one. Now before you go running and screaming away from the word healthy, it is no less delicious. So I present to you the beetroot, carrot, ginger, and apple smoothie. This is how I always start my day. I either have this one or a green smoothie, which I shall bring to you later in the week. Now I know you all like to think that I begin my day with half a dozen burgers or a few slices of cake but I don’t (except on Sundays!). For many years I have always believed it important to start my days with a healthy and nutritious breakfast, as it generally only goes downhill from there if I don’t. On weekdays I actually follow raw till 4, where I have either fruit or a salad for my lunch (usually with a bit of plain chicken in it) and snack on more fruit, veg or nuts until I get home from work. Then when I cook up dinner that’s when all the fun begins. I like junk food, in fact I love junk food, but I also enjoy lots of fresh and natural delights too. I just rarely share them, as most of you already know how to make a salad.

I’ve put on 9lbs over the 2 weeks I was visiting home and I’ve enjoyed every single one of them. I ate until my heart was content, because you have to enjoy it while you can. No roast potato, wrap, chip, chicken ball, or pastry delight was left uneaten. But now it’s time to pay the price and get back to it, or I shall never fit into all those lovely new clothes I bought myself.

So here’s my breakfast smoothie. I used to drink this as a juice, years ago when I lived in Australia, but here in Korea I don’t have a juicer. I actually think it’s better to have it as a smoothie though, all that fiber and roughage is important. My blender is nothing special and manages to make this smoothie 80% of the time. Sometimes it gives up half way through and I finish it off with the hand blender. The better your blender, the less chopping work you need to do. If the smoothie does come out a bit thick, you can always add a bit of extra ice or water. This recipe makes about 2 ½ smoothies. The fat boyfriend and I each have one for breakfast then I usually finish the leftovers when I get home. If you get up super early, you can always make it the night before and give it a stir before you drink it.

Ingredients

1 apple

½ a beetroot

⅓ of a carrot

2-3 baby oranges

2 inches of ginger (use as much as you like)

1 tablespoon of chia seeds (get them on i-Herb)

200ml of orange juice

Directions

Start by putting the softest ingredients in first, so for me its the oranges, apple, beetroot, ginger then finally the carrot. How finely you chop depends on your blender. If you have a vitamix, you probably don’t need to chop at all. 1-2cm pieces work for me, but if your blender is especially crappy you can always grate the beetroot carrot and apple. Then add the chia seeds. If you are unfamiliar with chia seeds, I urge you to get on i-Herb and give them a try. They don’t taste of anything and they are great for cleaning the toxins out of your liver. Once it’s all in add the orange juice and blend. If it’s a bit thick, a handful of ice cubes usually gets things going again. Serve in a recycled coffee cup and head to work feeling smug about how healthy you are. Happy 2014 everyone!

These were a little recipe I came across on pinterest. With always an abundance of chick peas in my house, I thought it would be churlish not to have a go and I was rather pleased with the results. They were crunchy and tasty and made a nice cheap alternative to nuts. 4 of us went through a bowl in no time whilst playing a game of monopoly, so they will definitely be served again some time soon.

Ingredients

400g of chickpeas

2 tablespoons of olive oil

1 teaspoon of garlic powder

1 teaspoon of Mexican seasoning

Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions

If you are using canned chick peas drain them and if you are using dried you will need to soak and cook them first. You need to make sure that your chickpeas are extremely dry. Pat them down with kitchen paper several times. The drier they are the crunchier they will be. Spread them on a baking tray and bake them in a single layer at 190 degrees Celsius for about 20-30 minutes. You will see the steam escaping as they bake. Once they are almost done, take them out and coat in the olive oil, salt, pepper, and Mexican spices. Bake for another 10-20 minutes until crunchy the whole way through. You may want to keep an eye on them towards the end to make sure they don’t burn. Serve straight away or store in an airtight container for a day or two. Voilà roasted spicy chickpeas.